The council said there will not be affordable homes to buy or social housing on site, but that 50% of the homes will be affordable to rent.

This is despite a petition calling for 25% of the homes to be affordable or social housing gathering more than 2,000 signitures.

Lack of social housing 'justified'

But Cllr Bassam Mahfouz said the absence of social housing was justified as the council is on course to achieve its target of building 7,000 affordable homes by 2026.

A council spokesperson said: "At least a half of the properties in the current proposals offer rent at prices ordinary working people can afford.

"As the area around the centre is designated Metropolitan Open Land it only allows for a small amount of private housing development on this severely constrained site.

"Reducing the cost of redeveloping the centre means the savings made will be available for other, affordable housing developments across the borough."

The council has also promised no loss of Metropolitan Open Space, with a new car park set to be built underground and new homes built on land currently occupied by its car park, as well as next to the building.

A new, 50m state-of-the-art swimming pool has been promised which means the Olympic facility can be split into three 25m pools, enabling a higher rate of usage.

Other improvements include a new cafe, larger gym, changing facilities that separate swimmers from gym users, short play provision, outdoor facilities enhancing open space.

'Who would pick up the bill?'

Gurnell Gym user Chris Lowe, an ex-BBC news presenter, said he was pleased with the consultation but said he was concerned about what would happen if it fell through.

He added: "For £37m, there has not been anything built in the last 50 years which has not been over-budgeted and if that were the case who would pick up the bill?"

The deal, currently in consultation, means the centre will be knocked down in April 2017 and re-opened in early 2019, a year later than previously estimated.

Cllr Mahfouz added the centre is currently losing the taxpayer £250,000 per year, while the new-look centre would generate £500,000 per year.

The council promised to refurbish the centre in its 2015 manifesto, something Cllr Mahfouz admits Labour regrets, but said it was forced to instead replace it when the financial benefits became clear.

Among these is the claim that refurbishment, lasting only a short amount of time, would cost 80% of the £37.7m it costs to improve and replace it.